Work for the winter in the garden

Despite the muck and melancholic skies, there is a part of me that loves autumn. And why not? That sense of urgency that consumes most gardeners during the late spring and summer months has slowly ebbed away, replaced by something altogether more mellow. This is especially true of the kitchen garden.

Yes, there are still plump garlic cloves to plant, knobbly stands of rhubarb to divide, fat broad bean seeds to finish sowing, damp barrow-loads of fallen leaves to be collected and added to the compost heap – but now I can take my time.

Bit by bit, I’m also slowly clearing away spent crops and putting any empty patches of ground to bed for the winter. Some I have filled with green manure sown back in early autumn. Others are being mulched with compost mixed with manure. In the case of one particularly neglected and weedy patch, I’m using the lazy man’s method of covering it with a layer of manure followed by an overcoat of black plastic held firmly in place with plastic pegs.

I call this the lazy man's method, but in fact it is the "no-dig" method of clearing overgrown plots or previously uncultivated ground, as espoused by the English gardener and author Charles Dowding.

As such, it is the polar opposite of labour-intensive, traditional methods such as rotovating or double-digging. Instead of an iron back and muscles of steel, all you need is patience. Oh, and time. It might take six months. Perhaps nine. At the very worst, a whole year. You simply mulch and wait. But by the end of it, that weedy patch of ground will have been transformed into healthy, fertile bare soil the colour of chocolate, just perfect for food growing.

Dowding’s no-dig method is almost fool- proof, with the exception of a few especially stubborn perennial weeds. It won’t, for example, kill Japanese knotweed. Nor will it completely clear bindweed, but done properly and left in place for an entire year, it will radically weaken its root system to the point where you can more easily dig out and control any new growth that appears.

Other perennial weeds, such as dandelions and dock, have long tap-roots that allow the plant to access stored reserves of energy. These may also cling on to life, but after months without light, they will be very weakened and easy to dig out.

So if you are contemplating growing your own food for the very first time but are daunted by the physical effort required to get the ground ready for planting, then this is the method for you. Similarly, if you are thinking of taking on an overgrown allotment or want to nurse a neglected patch back to full productivity, then this is the method that will produce maximum results with minimum effort and – even more importantly – without the use of chemical weed-killers.

First, though, a few pointers. Before laying the mulch, you’ll need to individually remove any woody plants by using a sharp spade to slice through the roots, just below ground level. Once you have laid down your mulch of organic matter (this could be manure or compost or seaweed, or a mixture of all three) followed by its overcoat of black plastic, it is important that it stays in place. The aim is to starve weeds of light, so make sure that there are no loose corners flapping in the wind or any tears or rips or holes. Use plastic ground- cover pegs or fence posts or heavy stones to fix it in position. If you can’t lay your hands on any sort of organic mulch, then it’s fine to use black plastic by itself.

While you’re waiting for the weeds to die, make sure to occasionally pull any weedy regrowth around the edges of the plastic, otherwise the leaves will continue to feed the buried weeds’ root systems.

To judge when and if the plastic sheeting is ready to be removed, peel it back after six months. There should be no sign of fresh growth/green leaves. If there is, replace it and wait a few more months. Once the soil is clear, you’re ready to rumble.

Use the no-dig method this month and by next May, that neglected, weedy patch of ground could instead be used to grow tender French beans, fragrant bulbs of Florence fennel, fat heads of lettuce, blood-red beetroot and tiny jewel-like alpine strawberries, as well as colourful edible flowers such as dahlias, pot marigolds and annual cornflowers, and lots of tasty, aromatic herbs. By next August, you could use it to grow different salad leaves – crunchy pak choi, colourful mustards, rocket, claytonia, corn salad – as well as scallions, radishes, baby turnips, kale and Chinese cabbage.

And a year from now? Well, just like I mentioned earlier, you could be filling it with garlic, rhubarb, perhaps a late sowing of broad beans.

Alternatively, if you want to be a truly lazy gardener, you could always leave the plastic in place until the following March, at which point you could start growing your very own delicious potatoes, onions and shallots. So take your time. Lazy gardening, as you can see, occasionally produces the most wonderful results.

See charlesdowding.co.uk for more information on the no-dig method

THIS WEEK IN THE GARDEN

November is the best month to plant tulip bulbs as cooler temperatures help to reduce the risk of tulip fire (Botrytis tulipae), a damaging fungal disease that attacks all parts of the plant. For the same reason, try to rotate plantings, always use large, good quality bulbs and discard any that show signs of disease or blemishes (mould growth, black spots, bruises) before planting deeply into fertile, free draining soil. Recommended suppliers include Beechill Bulbs (bulbs.ie), Mr Middleton (mrmiddleton.com) and for certified-organic bulbs, Fruithill Farm (fruithillfarm.com) As deciduous trees shed their leaves, now is a great time to appreciate the subtle beauties of those with colourful, textured bark and branches. Among the very best for a small to medium- sized garden are the paperbark maple, Acer griseum (cinnamon coloured, peeling bark), the Tibetan cherry, Prunus serrula (glossy, peeling, mahogany-coloured bark ) and the Himalayan birch, Betula utilis var. jacquemontii (silver white trunk), while Acer Senkaki is famous not only for its wonderful autumn display of foliage but also for its fiery winter branches.

All of these trees are readily available from good garden centres and can be planted now, either as bare-root or as potted specimens.

With November's cool night temperatures, it's time to keep a careful eye on condensation levels in polytunnels and glasshouses. Try to keep them as well-ventilated as possible during the day by opening doors and vents when the weather permits. Reduce watering to a minimum will also help. As they become winter-dormant, start to take root cuttings of perennials and woody plants – a cheap and useful way to propagate new plants for the garden.

Suitable candidates include Acanthus, Echinops, Phlox, Japanese anemones, Papaver orientale, Eupatorium, Hydrangea paniculata, Sophora, Chaenomeles, Aralia, Syringa and Philadelphus coronarius. For detailed instructions, see rhs.org.uk